US embassy cable - 04BOGOTA12939

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 012939 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2014 
TAGS: PTER, SNAR, ASEC, PHUM, PINR, CO, OAS, AUC 
SUBJECT: AUC'S CALIMA BLOC DEMOBILIZES 
 
REF: A. BOGOTA 12736 
     B. BOGOTA 12188 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood for reasons 1.4 (b) 
and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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1. (C) The Calima Bloc, the fifth paramilitary group to 
demobilize in 2004, demobilized near a small village in 
northern Valle del Cauca Department on December 18.  Bloc 
members, most from the departments of Valle del Cauca or 
Antioquia, turned in over 500 weapons.  The police have 
increased their presence in the Cauca River valley, where the 
Calima Bloc used to operate, and the military is conducting 
counterguerrilla operations in the mountain range east of the 
valley, where the FARC is active.  Civilian and security 
officials noted that drug trafficking by other illegal armed 
groups and the Norte del Valle Cartel remained a serious 
obstacle to fully securing the region.  Peace Commissioner 
Restrepo said the Calima Bloc would be the last paramilitary 
group to demobilize in 2004, bringing the total number of 
paramilitaries demobilized collectively in 2004 to 
approximately 2,600.  End Summary. 
 
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Calima Bloc Demobilizes 
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2. (U) On December 18, 553 paramilitaries from the United 
Self-Defense Forces of Colombia's (AUC) Calima Bloc 
demobilized on a farm near the village of Galicia, 
Bugalagrande municipality, Valle del Cauca Department.  Peace 
Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo, AUC commanders, and local 
government and Roman Catholic Church officials, including 
Valle del Cauca Governor Angelino Garzon and the Bishop of 
Buga, gave speeches.  Police and military officers, other GOC 
officials, and members of the OAS verification mission were 
also present.  Chief of National Police Operations General 
Alberto Ruiz was the highest-ranking security official in 
attendance.  Governor Garzon urged other illegal armed groups 
active in the department to follow the Calima Bloc's example 
and cease hostilities.  He encouraged the GOC and the 
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to hold a 
humanitarian exchange.  AUC senior commander Salvatore 
Mancuso, who appeared in civilian clothes after having 
officially demobilized in Catatumbo on December 10 (ref a), 
lamented that some doubted his motives for participating in 
the peace process and emphasized that his only objective was 
demobilization and peace.  Central Bolivar Bloc (BCB) 
political commander Ivan Roberto Duque, aka "Ernesto Baez," 
said other paramilitary groups active on the Pacific coast, 
including the Pacific Bloc, were prepared to demobilize in 
2005.  Both Duque and Restrepo praised AUC leader Vicente 
Castano's support for the peace process. 
 
3. (U) In contrast to the other two large-scale paramilitary 
demobilizations of 2004 (reftels), which took place near 
large towns, the Calima Bloc demobilized in an isolated rural 
area.  The nearest airstrip was at least a 45-minute drive 
away on poorly maintained dirt roads.  AUC commanders Mancuso 
and Duque arrived in a private helicopter from the 
concentration zone at Santa Fe de Ralito, Cordoba Department, 
under the supervision of the Peace Commissioner's staff. 
 
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Looking Forward to a New Life 
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4. (U)  Many of the demobilizing paramilitaries cheered when 
they turned in their weapons; some even kicked their 
ammunition.  Galicia residents attended the event, and one 
observer commented that some in the crowd had traveled long 
distances in hopes of being reunited with sons or daughters 
whom they suspected had joined the Calima Bloc.  There were 
ten women and 26 minors in the bloc.  Bloc members 
surrendered just under 500 weapons, primarily rifles but also 
about ten machine guns and a dozen rocket launchers.  OAS 
mission staff immediately began taking inventory of the 
weapons. 
5. (C) The demobilized paramilitaries began leaving the zone 
on December 19 in government-provided buses.  Few were 
natives of the Bugalagrande area.  Over 300 were from Valle 
del Cauca Department, mostly from the cities of Buenaventura 
and Cali.  Another 170 were from Antioquia Department, who 
will report to the reinsertion center in Turbo, in 
Antioquia's coastal Uraba region.  The GOC has not yet 
decided where to establish the reinsertion center for former 
paramilitaries from Valle del Cauca.  Several members of 
Restrepo's staff said a preliminary check of the list of 
demobilizing paramilitaries conducted by the Prosecutor 
General's Office ("Fiscalia") and Department of 
Administrative Security (DAS) indicated about ten percent are 
implicated in crimes beyond membership in an illegal armed 
group and would be required to report to the concentration 
zone at Santa Fe de Ralito.  Twenty former members of the 
Bananero Bloc and 60 former members of the Catatumbo Bloc are 
already there. 
 
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Good Security, But Drug Trafficking Remains A Problem 
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6. (C) Local police and government officials expressed 
confidence in the state's ability to prevent areas formerly 
dominated by the Calima Bloc from being taken over by the 
FARC or other illegal armed groups.  They emphasized, 
however, that drug trafficking remains a serious threat to 
the area's security.  The police have increased their 
presence in the Cauca River valley, where the Calima Bloc 
used to operate, and the military is conducting 
counterguerrilla operations in the mountains east of the 
river, where guerrillas led by FARC commander Fabian Ramirez 
are active.  The Calima Bloc had partially blocked the FARC 
from entering the valley to transport drugs to the Pacific 
coast or along the river.  GOC officials underscored the 
importance of demobilizing the Pacific Bloc and combating the 
Norte de Valle Cartel, both of which are active in the 
mountains to the west of the Cauca River and along the coast. 
 
 
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Demobilizations Will Continue in 2005 
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7. (C) Restrepo told Embassy officials the Calima Bloc will 
be the last paramilitary group to demobilize in 2004, 
bringing the total number of paramilitaries demobilized in 
collective acts this year to 2,624.  The next paramilitary 
groups to demobilize will be 800 paramilitaries in Cordoba 
Department formerly under Mancuso's command and 110 in the 
Mojana region of Cordoba, Bolivar, and Antioquia Departments, 
who are only loosely affiliated with the AUC.  Restrepo 
thanked the Embassy for its political support for 
demobilization, but expressed frustration over the conditions 
the international community was placing on the process.  He 
lamented that international focus has been on the legal 
debate regarding justice and reparations, and not on the fact 
that the GOC has achieved the successful demobilization of 
thousands of rank and file paramilitary troops. 
WOOD